Billie the Unicorn is a different kind of storybook labeled as “Peek ‘n Play.” The story itself is unique and equal parts adventure and learning as Billie heads off for the forest away from her familiar cornfield. From there she learns about gardening from her cousins who are masters with very special flowers.

The beauty of this all is in the illustrations that really do appear to be in 3D. Tilt and turn your device to see the environment interact with you in ways you haven’t seen before.

This is the kind of app that requires you to take the time to tap and swipe around the screen because there are so many interactive features you won’t be able to keep track. If you like, there is the ability to turn on hints that guide you toward the considerable number of hot-spots! Some may see this as cheating, but I think younger children really appreciate the help as it keeps them from getting frustrated and losing interest.

Choose between having the story read to you or reading it yourself, both are pretty standard features, but they also allow you to resume, which is always nice. Word highlighting is present in this app as the narrator reads and is one of my favorite interactive book features, as I believe it helps children learn to read, but also to follow along and understand the flow of a story.

What is neat and unique about this interface is that not only can you select a single word to have repeated back to you by the narrator, but with a swipe you can have her re-read phrases or even the entire passage.

What I liked: The illustrations in this app are truly gorgeous and enhanced by the 3D environment interactions.

What I didn’t like: It is hard to find something to complain about with this one! Even the background music was more on the soothing side than annoying!